1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a coating material applying method, a coating material applying apparatus and a printing machine for applying a coating material such as varnish to surfaces of prints for surface protection and/or luster enhancement.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known printing machine for applying varnish as a coating material to surfaces of prints is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-199046, for example. The printing machine described in this publication includes a varnish applying apparatus having a cylinder supported to be rotatable and defining a notch in a peripheral surface thereof, and an applicator roller supported to be rotatable for contacting and feeding varnish to the cylinder.
However, the above printing machine is constructed to apply varnish picked up from a varnish vessel to printing paper, through the applicator roller, and has a drawback of requiring a large apparatus for varnish application. Furthermore, with such an application mode, it is impossible to apply varnish only to a particular area on the printing paper, for example. When it is desired to apply varnish only to a particular area, a printing unit for one color and a printing plate therefor must be provided (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1995-304160).